Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell ::
by William the Bloody
Jack the Ripper. Three little words and now you're hooked. Probably one of the most famous serial killers of all-time, Moore does his best to pen his theories on the subject with diligent and thorough research, conjecture, and fictionalization. Probably one of the most heavily researched comic books of all-time, Moore supplies a very detailed bibliography describing how each page of this graphic novel came to be. He theorizes that the Ripper was none other than Dr. William Gull, who committed these crimes not only with the knowledge of the Queen, but at her behest in order to cover up a scandal. Moore also draws in the mysterious group known as the Freemasons, theorizing that it was because of this tightly knit group that Gull was able to accomplish such fiendish crimes without ever being caught, simply because they did everything in their power to cover it up.
The Good: Moore's storytelling is as excellent as always. If you haven't yet acknowledged him as a comic book deity I suggest you do so now. This 14 chapter (plus prologue and epilogue) volume displays much of Moore's typical diligent planning within the book's foreshadowing and chronological occurrences. Many of Moore's theories on the Ripper case and the Freemasons is fascinating stuff, if you're into that sort of thing. He goes so far as to suggest that the very design of London is a Freemason emblem and they have not only undermined the Catholic Church, but have also assimilated many of the cathedrals. The addition of the Elephant Man to the cast is an unexpected delight, as Moore points out that it isn't documented that a meeting between Gull and the Elephant man ever occurred, but it is very likely to have happened as Gull was a contemporary of the doctor who "discovered" him. He also puts into play a theory about the fourth dimension and how all of time relates on a arch, with I thought to be some interesting stuff.
The Bad: The art just didn't do for me. Many of the women characters looked too similar for me to know who was who. It was also very scribbly looking. They may have been going for a particular "look" with it, but I'm sorry it's a miss. Many of the characters are uneducated and low-class, so their dialogue can be difficult to understand at times, especially with their heavy cockney slang. This book is also very "English" in that it deals with the royals and the layout of London, and if you're American, you may find this all very confusing, if you are too lazy to read the bibliography. At the end, there are many leaps throughout time to demonstrate the fourth dimension theory, which poses as a head scratcher, again, if you're too lazy to read the notations. The hefty 35.00 American dollar price-tag on this sucker may be a turn off.
Overall, I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend this work of true-crime fiction to anyone who would appreciate it.
A-
